


You're Sweet

by deletingpoint



Series: Love Doesn't Mean a Thing [2]
Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Coda, Episode: s03e10 Time Bomb, F/F, F/M, Open Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-24
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-09-01 22:42:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8641009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deletingpoint/pseuds/deletingpoint
Summary: it's IsabellA!





	1. Barbara

 

Barbara drummed her nails against the counter. There was no answer from Tabbie, no answer from Butch, no answer from the hide-out’s landline. Ever since she had been taken briefly on the opening night of Sirens, Tabitha had made a huge number about Barbara’s worrying and made sure they checked in on one another every day. No matter what was going on.

Tabitha was still a bit evasive about Butch, but Barb knew they were back together. She could smell it. Whatever, not her business, unless they wanted to make it her business. It’s not like Butch had more importance than she did and it’s not like Tabitha had stopped touching her so who cares they didn’t bother to tell her. Even though she had asked several times. “Who knows”, “too early to tell”, “we’ll see” were the answers she got. No big deal, she knew Tabitha wouldn’t leave her again, they had their baby, they were the sirens. So why the fuck didn’t she answer her damn phone? Someone must have happened, and that someone had to be that damn Penguin. Ugh, and to even think Barb had started to kind of like him, but no, that man was just too vengeful for his own good.

“Rosie!” she yelled over the counter, “I’m gonna go get my partner, you, handle the fortress, will you, darling?”

Silverhaired beauty shrugged her shoulders: “Will do.”

Barbara threw her fur-coat on and picked up the gun from their bedroom. She needed to make an entrance, damn Ozzie, that’s what you’re gonna get when you’re too nice to people.

 

She stumped in the mansion, knowing everyone was ordered to not kill her. Still, she felt kind of chilly with no backup. It was a long time since she had lived here, Oswald knew her alliance was with Tabbie now. Tabitha should’ve sold out Butch and made that deal for her life. But, right, not her business.  She threw out her gun before entering the meeting room. Crime-bosses all around, Oswald being condescending, she really wanted to just shoot him and be done with it. Still, Barbara was a survivor (surprisingly, she had even started to kinda like it) and she had another idea when Olga walked in. She lowered her gun and pretended to submit to Penguins demands, not without a sharp remark though. Pengui, instead of Ozzie. From her part, the so-called friendship they had was over.

Tabitha was more important and waiting. Even if she was with Butch. It didn’t really bother Barbara, she had offered to make it an official threesome, but apparently she was not good enough for Butch. It would’ve hurt her pride, if she had actually wanted him. Still, it could’ve been fun. Whatever. Olga took the bait and Barb got the glue she was searching for. Even more than one. All the hours Oswald, Penguin had been missing back when she was still here, he probably went to see his sweetheart in Arkham. Really, it would’ve been sweet if she had time to revel in it. And if she was still “friends” with Oswald, Penguin.

The guy with the toys was easy. Just a bit of pain or pleasure or whatever the guy was feeling and he was singing the answers. The anticipation was building, perhaps she should have taken someone, anyone with her. But there really wasn’t a lot of people she could really trust apart from Tabbie. She hadn’t even seen Selina for a couple of days. She still felt good about herself, she had been truly awesome this whole day! The entire day. So she marched in, ready to kill anyone she needed to. Tabbie was there, she wasn’t awake.

 

“I’d put that hand on some ice,” the vile nerd was saying as he walked out the room, but Barbara couldn’t even move to stop him, to kill him, anything. She had been late. Tabitha’s hand had been cut off, she was bleeding and she wasn’t looking at her. “Barbara,” Butch’s voice cut through the haze in Barb’s brain and she cut them loose and got the ice for the hand. It was Tabitha, she was always fine, right? She would soon be back to her assassin self. Butch carried her to the car, babbling the whole way: “Is she gonna be alright, baby you’re gonna be fine,” while Barbara was the one driving, actually doing something useful. Tabitha was going to be fine, there was no doubt about it, there simply was no other option. No point in staring at her now with horrified looks like Butch was giving her. Someone had killed some librarian. It wasn’t Butch, it probably wasn’t Tabbie, it was someone who wanted to eliminate the competition. Barbara knew that feeling pretty well. Seems like she had even more common with Penguin than she had thought.

 

She looked at Butch and decided to trust the guy, after all Tabitha did. “We are going to start the war.” The more she thought the more she liked the idea. Had to do something in this lousy city.

“She is going to be fine,” she said for the millionth of time and patted Butch’s one real hand. That was an unpleasant thought. Like he didn’t have a connection to Tabbie before. Never mind, not her business. “Yeah, yeah, she’s gonna be fine.”

Huh. That was actually kind of sweet to hear, someone else saying it, someone else believing it. “Thank you, Barbara, for coming.”

“Huh,” she heard herself say, “you’re kinda … sweet. We’ll take them down, Butch, don’t you worry.”

She had plans to think up, strategies, alliances, but right, she could wait in the hospital. Just a little while. Not that it was necessary. Tabbie was going to be fine and they’re going to take on the whole damn city.

 


	2. Tabitha

Tabitha noticed something was off with the red meat that Butch had begged her to try. She just noticed it too late.

“Baby, this is so good, try it! Try, try, try …” that word was haunting her now, her head aching from the drug, filled with fog and the taste of burning plastic.

Tabitha opened her eyes. Great. She was bound and gagged alongside with Butch. She tried to stretch her arms, to loosen the ropes a bit, but the glasses-guy seemed to be good at what he was trying to do. He wasn’t paying her much attention, rambling on about a woman he loved and Butch and quite frankly, it all seemed a bit ridiculous. Overdramatic, that was the word. Barbara was sometimes overdramatic. It’s not that Tabbie didn’t enjoy it, but sometimes it was just a tiny bit exhausting. Butch was so much easier, no big fights, no spite, a little passionless, but sweet. Cute as a bear. She saw a bear in wild once, just walking with steady, calm steps, aware of its power, eyes like huge buttons, shiny and sparkly. Barbara was sparkling. Tabitha blinked hard, clearly the drug was still trying to spill her guts.

The smell of electricity was worse than screams or flashes. Heightened. She couldn’t get free. Butch was being tortured and she didn’t even know the reason. What woman? The only woman she could remember right now was Barbara and she sure as hell wasn’t in love with this creep. Or dead. There were a few librarians on the road, this Isabel didn’t ring any bells. Burning hair and sweat and pain filled the room. It wasn’t really disgusting, though she herself wasn’t exactly the burner type. Whips were nice, and knives and hairbrushes and needles, and she once took a guy’s eyes out with a spoon. Burning flesh was never her favourite spectacle. Poor Butch was already unconscious, Nygma laughing to himself. Seemed like a hymn to ex Arkham residents. She glanced at Butch, at least he was still breathing. I guess it was as good a place as any to die in, unless Barbara would come looking for them. She must know by now that they were missing. She might come, she might not. Tabitha still hadn’t told her about taking Butch back. She was pretty supportive, but she still might not like it. She didn’t hide it, but she kind of wanted Butch to be only hers.

Another round was starting, Butch woke up. Oh, what fun! Now the guy paid his attention to her. Made some wordplay about hands. It didn’t register that well. Tabitha’s eyes were glued to the little guillotine. Her hand. What? She didn’t want to lose her hand, how would she do her job? She hadn’t really been doing assassin-jobs recently, but that had been a choice, not a necessity. This was getting more and more ridiculous with every second. All right, she doesn’t have to lose her hand. But then Butch would die. The creep would do it. Love? What love? She didn’t even know what love is. Love doesn’t mean anything, no, those were Barb’s words. She needed to be whole, with all her limbs attached.

“It’s okay you don’t love me, ‘cause I love you. For a guy like me that’s enough.”

It felt good to know. To be loved. And she didn’t, she didn’t love, it wasn’t her thing, never had been. But she had always taken care of things that belonged to her. Butch’s love belonged to her, he just said it. How could she destroy that, wipe away like nothing?

“Hey, Butch,” she looked to her left before she could reconsider, “you’re sweet.”

A second later the blade fell. She didn’t really feel it before she saw the blood.

Then the pain came and punched her into the dark haze.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's IsabellA!


End file.
